Maximum Price For Desexing

[centitout]

It depends on what they do too. I opted for pre-blood tests and having a nurse in with the vet. Some vets are cheap because they don't have all the monitoring equipment

My vets do,they also have endoscopic equip and new digital x ray machines,vet nurse monitors animal at all times.

[Beth.]

I got Lottie speyed about 4 weeks ago (6 1/5 month old bitch) and paid $170 all up - but I'm in a small town which offers a rebate if your dog is registered through the council!! Which I think is a great incentive - Saved me $40 I think, might not be a lot, but it is to a uni student!!

[~Shepherd~]

Whippet cost me $160, Shepherd $180-$200 at my clinic

Yes I to have whippets desexed at around $120 -$150 each.

......and yes to the questions that are going to follow. The vet does do blood tests, give pain relief, has modern equipment, uses proper anaesthetic techniques (I won't use a vet that uses benzo's with sighthounds), has a return check up in a week plus is the only reproductive specialist in the state.

Be interesting to know that, as with other services, if demographics plays a part with fees. ie: richer areas v's working class areas and prices.

I think ACA did a segment on this a few weeks back.

Is a very pricey area. They just want dogs desexed to stop unwanted pups so that encourages people to do the right thing. This price includes everything except pre anasthetic testing. The neighbouring clinics are at least $100 more

[roses2905]

I got a quote recently for my boss for her little dog, approx 2 kgs SWF. It was just under $300 if she had not had a season, I think about $370 if she had. The price then went up for weight, and again having had a season or not.

[stormie]

Our old clinic on Sydney's North Shore was over $400 for a large size spey. That was average price for that area too and was just for the operation, no bloods, fluids etc.

Here (Hills District) our most expensive spey is just over $300.

I get that people think it should be cheaper because it's routine, but it's still a pretty big operation. We don't treat speys as 'routines' - to us, it's the same as if we were taking out a mass in the abdomen (essentially that's what it is) which would otherwise cost a fair bit more than $300. Some speys are quite simple and are over in 20mins, where as others can be much more fiddly and can take a lot longer, yet people still pay the same. I think people often forget that speying a female is still pretty big surgery, even if it is done all the time.

As for the price for Centitouts puppy, you'd hope it was done by a specialist for that price. Have you called the number on the invoice to check that is the correct price and you're not being scammed for other services/fees?

[Dame Aussie]

Very expensive, the highest price I've ever seen is around $300 and that was only the other month.

[centitout]

Our old clinic on Sydney's North Shore was over $400 for a large size spey. That was average price for that area too and was just for the operation, no bloods, fluids etc.

Here (Hills District) our most expensive spey is just over $300.

I get that people think it should be cheaper because it's routine, but it's still a pretty big operation. We don't treat speys as 'routines' - to us, it's the same as if we were taking out a mass in the abdomen (essentially that's what it is) which would otherwise cost a fair bit more than $300. Some speys are quite simple and are over in 20mins, where as others can be much more fiddly and can take a lot longer, yet people still pay the same. I think people often forget that speying a female is still pretty big surgery, even if it is done all the time.

As for the price for Centitouts puppy, you'd hope it was done by a specialist for that price. Have you called the number on the invoice to check that is the correct price and you're not being scammed for other services/fees?

I dont mind paying for the op,but i am not paying for pre bloods,pain relief(all dogs are given metacam prior to waking and that is included in the price) gold thread etc!

That is 1/2 the price of the pup,so i will either have to make people do them younger,charge heaps more for a pup or cap it at $300.None of the others have been that much,just cant see why the same op is double? It was routine,no complications etc.

And she hasnt been in season yet either,my vets charge an extra $40 for that if it cant be put off.

[stormie]

Yeah I agree its ridiculous. We don't really agree with all the 'optional extra's that people can choose anyway. It's the vets job to decide if a patient needs those things, and most owners aren't really in a position to say whether their animal should be on fluids etc. All surgeries should receive pain relief and if they need fluids then they should get them - it shouldn't be an 'optional extra' that people get guilted into paying more for.

[dancinbcs]

My last spey. last year, was $170 for an 18kg mature brood bitch done at the clinic of one of the leading repro vets in NSW. Included everything including pain relief, etc.

[centitout]

The only time i have seen bitches put on fluids is when they are having a c-section or are pregnant at time o f desexing.I didnt even have fluids when i had a big inguinal hernia repair,or come to think of it-pain relief

[casowner]

My breeder gave me a $200 refund when I got my boy desexed, the refund wasn't an incentive in my case but I think that it would be for puppy buyers

[Andisa]

That is very expensive - I would not be happy with it either.

Last year I had a 40 kg Rottie bitch spayed and she had a scar lump on her elbow removed at the same time - not sure on the exact amount but think it was under $350 - but they did say they under quoted me and I was lucky I didn't have to pay the full amt - saved about $100. Must say though I was very impressed with the size of the incision - was only about 3 or 4 stitches and the scar lump removed from her elbow was about 4 or 5 stitches.

[Snout Girl]

Sally was $165 about 4 months ago and Bert was $220 2 months ago (different vets, were not happy with sally's care so we switched for bert).

[jrm88]

It does sound alot, but it is probably around what desexing should actually cost. Desexings are hugely discounted and so now people expect to get it done as cheap as possible. If they werent discounted so much, maybe I would get paid more

Now.. I would ring up and see exactly what was included in the invoice. You will probably find pre anaesthetic bloods were done, IVF were done and possibly if the bitch was coming into season, some clinics will charge extra as it becomes a more difficult/risky surgery. Hope you work out a compromise with your puppy buyers!

[Pawfect]

The vet my friend got a spey quote from quoted around the $500 mark (a few yrs back), and when she asked why so much the vet said that most veterinary practices discount desexing as an incentive for people to get their pets desexed, but at that clinic they just charge the normal sugery rate which is higher.

Perhaps that's why it was so expensive?

[Greytmate]

You can't really blame the people. At some clinics the owner is asked if they would like all sorts of options, and are made to feel guilty if they don't take them.

For future litters, give puppy buyers a list of vets that you would be happy to use and a price limit on what you are prepared to pay for. That way if they choose extra services they know they will have to pay for them.

[Bindii]

I recently heard of a clinic that offered gold, silver and bronze options for desexing. The gold i think included iv fluids and bloods (and was about $500) Silver included bloods only and bronze was just the surgery itself. What a guilt trip!

At our clinic we don't do bloods - a healthy pet should not need this - some clients are shocked to hear this after ringing around other vets whose nurses preach about it's necessity! If there is something wrong with them which would effect a GA then it would be present in the animal in it's growth or it would seem unwell in some way. If a sick animal requires surgery, bloods are usually an early part of their work-up anyway so we would already know what was going on with them. Do you have a blood test before a day surgery?? I certainly never have. We only advise i/v fluids to older or sick patients requiring surgery... All patients that i have witnessed recover from desexing quickly and smoothly and recovery at home goes just as well.

I think bloods and i/v fluids for desexing is a complete money making scam. JMHO

ETA (after reading the post below): Pain relief is given as part of a premed an lasts up to about 12 hours. I have only seen one case return (in the last 2 years) with a bitch that seemed painful still the next day, and they were given extra pain relief. All other clients return with stories of how happy there dogs were on the night of the surgery, or at least by the next morning.

Obviously staff are fully qualified and medical equipment is monitered by 2 nurses and the vet performing the surgery. Hospital wear is also warn - including gloves... have never heard of a clinic not using them and it's disgusting to think that it would be suggested that they wouldn't (in response to the post below). Full nurse supervision during recovery - we have 2 surgery nurses and 1 hospital nurse... agree that this is not standard.

Bitch - $190

Dog - $140

(slightly cheaper if under 6 months)

Edited April 20, 2010 by Bindii

[HappyGirl83]

We charge $300-380 weight depending. Includes blood work (not a full panel), IV fluids during the surgery (not pre or post Sx), pain relief after Sx and for 3 days after and post surgery care (recalls etc). We also have surcharges of $50-100 for in heat, preg & obese bitches. Fully qualified vet nurses & techs and monitoring equipment and hospital gowning, caps, masks, gloves (you would think gloves would be standard in surgeries wouldn't you? In some places sadly not!). Full nurse supervision post surgery. These things are definitely not standard with most desexings in my area. There are definitely cheaper options in my town, people find this out when they are price shopping. We won't compromise patient care just to meet the vet across towns prices.

Desexings, especially spey's, barely cover costs. And as mentioned above, people call them routine because they are done often but they are fairly major surgery.

As for IV fluids during surgery, every single patient who goes under an anaesthetic gets them with us. Any patient with an anaesthetic risk level of 2 or more may have pre/post fluids, pending on the vet's decision & blood work. You get what you pay for very often with vet care!

[Bindii]

Two very contrasting posts within a minute!

Believe what you wish

[WoofnHoof]

I wish I'd gotten bloods done prior to desexing my husky he wasn't a really sick pup just a bit underweight and had intermittent diahorrea which myself and the vets put down to a sensitive tummy. Had I got the bloods done the liver problem would have been caught earlier and saved a lot of stress and heartache (and expense!).

Personally I think blood tests should be standard and not an option (at the time it wasn't even offered as an option!) because it's better to be safe than sorry.